Telegraph’s Middle East conference sheds light on region

Regional politicians, commentators, and experts gathered at the Middle East Congress in London on Wednesday.

Prince Saud bin Khaled Al Faisal from the Saudi Arabian Investment Authority speaking at the opening day of the Middle East Congress in London on February 25. Stephen Lock for the National

LONDON // The political stability and economic strength of Gulf Cooperation Council states are fundamental to the Middle East’s future amid turbulence in much of the wider region, Saudi Arabia’s Prince Saud bin Khalid Al Faisal told a London conference on Wednesday.

Prince Saud said western perceptions of Gulf countries were often shaped by views of the region as a whole.

While his own country stood as a stabilising force, he acknowledged that events of the past 5-10 years had been “particularly challenging”.

"But I am here as a voice of great optimism for the region," he said in the keynote opening address of the two-day Middle East Congress organised by the Telegraph publishing group.

Prince Saud, executive director of the Saudi Arabia General Investment Authority, said an UN trade and development report had noted that GCC countries had avoided significant political unrest in recent years.

With strong economies and visionary leadership, he said, these states had experienced substantial growth and increased investment in the public sector. They also showed a willingness to “engage and compete” in a globalised business environment.

Tobias Ellwood, the under-secretary of state at the British foreign ministry, described the region as one of immense and diversified economic potential. London’s skyline was dotted with evidence of massive Middle East investment, he said, including the 87-story Shard skyscraper, predominantly in the ownership of the Qatari state.

But he warned of the need to counter the extremism of ISIL, its “perverted” views of Islam and its threat to regional stability. “Security, prosperity and development are intimately linked,” he said.

Edward Oakden, a former British ambassador to the UAE and now Middle East director at Britain’s foreign ministry, defended his government’s attempts to uphold a “very strong set of values” without seeking to impose them on other parts of the world.

He said it was reasonable to make a distinction between stability and revolution. “We support the aspirations of people to have accountable and non-corrupt governments and very few governments would have any argument with that.”

He pledged support for the efforts of Egypt and other countries to restabilise Libya and also hailed the “valiant” work of the Iraqi prime minister Haider Al Abadi to get his country and its government back on a stable and accountable footing.

Baroness Nicholson, executive chairman of the Iraq Britain Business Council, deplored the “unspeakable cruelty” suffered by Iraqi people in the third of the country occupied by ISIL.

But she but urged business to recognise the need for direct foreign investment on a large scale as the country tries to recover from years of conflict.

“The population still does not have true and reasonable access to electricity and water supplies and telecommunication facilities are not adequate,” she said. There was also an urgent requirement for injections of capital in Iraqi infrastructure, including roads and ports, and work to be done on improving health and education services.

She said the private sector was much better equipped than public agencies or governments to respond to the challenges. She said the Dutch-owned multinational oil giant Vitol deserved credit for funding a new health centre she is due to open officially at the weekend in the Dohuk governate.

“I am sure any decent company would be happy to become involved, applying the corporate social responsibility commitments of their own companies’ constitutions,” she said. “There are great opportunities and I am appealing to private business to become involved as it does this sort of thing so much quicker, so much cleaner.”

Meanwhile, Reem Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State, said that the Emirates had been recognised for its leading role in promoting gender equality in education and at work.

Though only 43-years-old, the country had always placed women “at the heart of its development and it ambitions”, she said, and this was in line with a declaration by Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding father, that women deserved to occupy high positions according to their capabilities and qualifications.

But she hoped in her lifetime that the question of being a women ceased to be an issue, adding: “We are all in this together and women can only advance if men advance alongside us.”

The National is among the media partners for Telegraph Middle East Congress. Mohammed Al Otaiba, the editor-in-chief, is due to chair a panel on Thursday on investment in infrastructure, real estate, construction and development.